White Plains Card Show Recap

I attended the White Plains Card Show yesterday.  It was a lot more crowded than usual.  I assume this was because Mariano Rivera was signing autographs.  For a mere $299.00, you could have your item signed by Rivera.  I love Mo, but I had to pass.  That’s a lot of money.  It was another $99.00 if you wanted an inscription.  He signed autographs for about 3 hours.  On the plus side, I received a free Rivera custom card upon entering the show.  

 

I spent a good deal of time searching the dime boxes of various dealers.  I finished the day with about 50 dime cards. 

I also paid 50 cents each for a pair of 2013 Bowman Reprint cards of Albert Pujols.  Apparently, these are called blue sapphire cards.  I saw shiny and I pulled the trigger. 

Overall, I purchased 8 autographs from two different dealers at $2.00 each.  I was surprised at how many dealers were selling low priced game used and autograph cards.  I bought the two Josh Thole autographs from the same dealer.  I guess he is less popular since leaving the Mets.  Also included were autographs of Noah Lowry, Tyler Pastornicky, Luke Hochevar, Daniel Hudson, Cole DeVries, and Joe Benson.

Ruben Sierra was the free autograph signing at 1PM.  The line was huge.  I guess everybody who showed up to get Mariano’s signature stuck around for Sierra.  I waited on this line for about an hour and twenty minutes.  The signature looks terrific in blue Sharpie.  But, here’s the funny part.  Once I got up to Sierra’s table, he didn’t look at me, talk to me, shake my hand, or acknowledge my existence in any way.  Why?  Because he was talking to someone on his smartphone in a language that I believe was Spanish.  I am not exaggerating at all. 

Following the autograph signing, I had a quick lunch and continued through the show floor.  I only bought one game-used card.  This Joba Chamberlain card comes from 2011 Topps and cost $2.00.  I was tempted to buy a Phil Hughes game-used card from the same dealer for $2.50 but I passed.  Both pitchers caused heartburn on multiple occasions for Yankee fans before leaving town. 

Finally, I picked up a handful of 2014 packs for a total of $5.00.  I will show the contents in another post.  I had a great time as always.  And I think I picked up a few good deals.  And catching a brief glimpse of Mariano made the day a little more exciting. 

White Plains Card Show: Part 4

I spent quite a bit of time cherry picking a 3/$1 box at the White Plains Card Show.  I did so until my neck started to hurt.  The end result was 8 Albert Pujols cards and a Derek Jeter card to round out the lot.  Here is the loot.   

White Plains Card Show: Part 3

I found a few good deals in a dollar bin at the White Plains Card Show.  First, I picked up a 2008 UDx Autograph of Marlon Byrd.  It’s a sticker autograph and certainly not a star player.  But I couldn’t pass this up for a buck.  Second, I bought a 2012 Topps Jersey Card of Sergio Santos.  The neat thing about this card is the jersey swatch.  It is blue with a white pinstripe.  I believe this is from a throwback uniform.  The funny thing is I lost an auction for this very card about a month ago.  Finally, I purchased a 2012 Gypsy Queen Jersey Card of Nelson Cruz.  This is my first Gypsy Queen Relic Card.  I now have regret about some of the cards I did not pick up out of this box, including a few Jesus Montero cards.  Oh well.

White Plains Card Show: Part 2

The free autograph at the White Plains Card Show was Howard Johnson.  I got on line about 20 minutes before the signing was scheduled to start.  It was a good thing I did.  The line was really long by the time the signing started.  HoJo was really cool.  He signed my 1993 Upper Deck card in black Sharpie.  He actually let some of the kids try on his 1986 World Series Ring.  That thing is really big. 

White Plains Card Show: Part 1

I spent the better part of my Sunday attending the Fall Classic Card Show in White Plains, NY.  Overall, it was a great day as usual.  I will start with a few observations.  First, the usual parking lot which costs $4.00 was closed.  Apparently, some sort of marathon was occurring at the same time as the show.  I parked on a nearby side street.  It was a shorter walk, I saved $4.00, and I found a new free spot to park. Sorry Westchester County.  This makes up for the parking ticket I got in the City of White Plains about a year ago.  Second, I noticed a heck of a lot more vintage cards than usual.  That’s not really my thing.  Third, I noticed that a lot of the dealers were actually buying cards.  I had one approach me and ask if I had anything to sell.  Many dealers had signs indicating that they were buying.  Finally, many of the dealers complained about how business was slow and they were not making much money.  This is nothing new.  In fairness, the show floor certainly was not packed.  I will show off all of my swag this week.         

Card Show Swag

OK, so here’s how my day went at the White Plains card show. I typically search all tables going right to left. I noticed that there were a lot more basketball and football cards than usual. There were also a bunch of vintage cards. Not really my thing. The free autograph was Stan Bahnsen. I didn’t have anything to get signed so I skipped that. The first card I considered buying was a 1985 Topps RC of Kirby Puckett. The centering was a bit off so I skipped it. My first purchase was a lot of 6 cards. I received game-used jersey cards of Eric Chavez, Carl Crawford, Bartolo Colon, Paul LoDuca, and Hank Blalock as well as an autograph of former Met Ambiorix Burgos. All of this cost me $5 total.

I didn’t really come across anything worthwhile for a long time. I offered a guy $4 for a 2007 Bowman’s Best Melky Cabrera auto but he declined. I finally bought 5 more cards from another vendor for $2 each. My favorite amongst these is the 2005 Bowman Chrome RC of Melky Cabrera. It is graded PSA 9. I know what everybody thinks of grading companies, but I like this card. This vendor also had 2005 Bowman Chrome RCs of Edinson Volquez graded PSA 9. Fear not, I also bought some non-graded cards from this vendor. I picked up a 2007 SPx auto of Rich Harden for $2. That’s a bargain. Imagine what a similar card would go for in Harden’s prime. I also bought a 2008 Stadium Club auto of Carlos Villanueva, 2010 Topps auto of Reid Brignac, and a Topps Co-Signers auto of Matt Albers and Chris Iannetta. All of that for $2 each. I’m not sure why Albers and Iannetta are on the same card but whatever.

My final purchase was the most interesting. I was searching a box of 2011 Topps commons to pick up some cards that I did not get in my hobby box. That’s when the vendor offered to sell me the entire box for $15. Please understand that there were about 700 cards in this box. Needless to say, I bought the box and spent the past two days going through it. This wasn’t the best show that I have been to but I had a great time as always. I also had a great time going through all this stuff.

White Plains Card Show

I spent the better part of the day attending a card show in White Plains, NY. I'll scan all of my loot and show it off over the next few days. I had a pretty decent haul. However, the show itself was a bit disappointing. It seemed like there were fewer vendors and fewer customers than normal. I guess this is a sign of a slumping industry or a slumping economy. The number of players signing autographs was also disappointing. Stan Bahnsen was the free autograph. I didn't get him because I didn't have anything to get signed. Also, he was way before my time. Fergie Jenkins was signing for $25 a pop which was decent. Jim Kaat was also signing for $25. I did not get either player. I should have gotten Kaat but whatever. Hopefully, the August show will have a few more players. Overall, I actually had a wonderful time. There is no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than to attend a card show.

East Coast National: Part Six

The final purchase that I made at the White Plains show was a pair of autographs that cost me $5. The first card is a 2007 Topps Co-Signers Dual Autograph of Nook Logan and Chris Young. This is my first dual autograph. I’m not sure how these two players are related or why they are on the same card but it is a cool looking card and well worth the money. The dealer seemed surprised that it was in the 2 for $5 box. The second card is a 2007 UD Future Stars auto of Carlos Gomez. Gomez was a top prospect for the Mets when he and others were traded for Johan Santana. So there it is. I'm finally done with my card show posts!

East Coast National: Part Five

I purchased a bunch of common cards from the 10 cent boxes at the East Coast National Card Show. I came up with some decent finds. They are pictured below.

I also bought a few more cards out of a 20 cent box but I think they were worth it:

East Coast National: Part Four

I picked up this card from a dealer on stage at the East Coast National in White Plains. The card was a 50% off bin. Even at 50%, everything in the bin was way overpriced except for the one card that I bought. It is a 2009 Allen & Ginter Game-Used Jersey Card of Dontrelle Willis. It was marked $2 and I bought it for $1. I think this is a pretty decent price even though Willis has basically fallen off the face of the earth. Willis is actually trying to come back as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Hopefully, Willis can be successful at the big league level once again.

East Coast National: Part Three

My next purchase at the White Plains show was a pair of autographed cards. The dealer was asking $3 each but I got 2 for $5. The first is a 2008 Stadium Club Beam Team auto of Glen Perkins of the Minnesota Twins. Perkins is currently in AAA. He has only seen limited MLB duty this year. He was sent down when the Twins acquired Brian Fuentes. I like Minnesota and don’t mind buying a cheap Twins auto. The second card is a 2010 Upper Deck auto of Nyjer Morgan. I bought this card because Morgan is on my fantasy team. He’s been a good source of steals this year. He's also a class act all the way. He doesn’t sign much TTM. I haven’t seen too many certified autos either so I picked this one up.

East Coast National: Part Two

One of the first purchases I made at the White Plains show was a four card lot for $15. I think I may have overpaid a little but that’s OK. The first card is a 2009 UD Icons Jersey Card of Travis Hafner. I don’t know why I purchased this card. Hafner has pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. The second card is a 2008 Allen & Ginter autograph of Jeff Francoeur. I like the design of A&G cards. Frenchie is the newest Texas Ranger and he really doesn’t sign much TTM so I snatched this card up. The third card is a 2007 Bowman’s Best autograph of Melky Cabrera. I already had this card, but I like it and I wanted another. I’m still a Melky fan even though he’s no longer a Yankee. The final card is a 2010 Topps autograph of Andrew Bailey. Bailey was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year so I figured this was money well spent.

East Coast National: Part One

I spent the better part of last Sunday attending the East Coast National Card Show in White Plains, NY. Because I had a pretty busy week, I am spending this Sunday going through my loot, scanning cards, and posting about the show. Admission was $8.00 and Parking was $4.00. The free autograph signer was Roy White. I didn’t have anything to get signed so I skipped the autograph line. It’s a good thing that I did because I was still going through the 10 cent boxes as the show ended. I didn’t even have time to eat lunch. A few dealers had 10 cent boxes with some decent cards inside them. I will usually spend at least an hour going through these boxes looking for bargains. I am not a set builder. I just look for cards that I like and buy them. It’s that simple. I also bought a couple of game used jersey and rookie cards. However, I mostly bought certified autographs. I didn’t plan on that – it just happened. I overheard more than one dealer complain that they were not making too many sales. Of course, some dealers can blame that on their ridiculous asking prices. But I suppose the down economy has something to do with that. With this in mind, I was able to haggle with most dealers. Overall, I pretty satisfied with the experience. I just wish the show lasted a little longer. Over the next few days I will show off all of the cool stuff I picked up at the card show. For now, here’s a small purchase from a dealer I met on the stage. I picked up three 1999 Topps Traded rookies of C.C. Sabathia, Carl Crawford, and Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was a Yankee, Sabathia is a Yankee, and Crawford may become a Yankee at some point. These were the only base rookie cards that I bought. I paid a dollar each which seems pretty reasonable. I love the 1999 Topps Traded Set. I actually own two of the Chrome Sets. I never bought a base set though. Those are where the autographed cards are contained. For some reason, the Chrome Set does not have any autographs. I also own various singles, most of which are graded for some reason. Anyway, here is a photo of the cards.

Card Show Swag!

I attended the White Plains Card Show at the Westchester County Center yesterday. I think I was one of the few people who didn't shell out the big bucks for Don Mattingly's autograph. It was cool just to see him in person though. He is still extremely popular. He signed from 12PM until around 3:30PM. Anyway, I had a great time as usual and picked up some nice cards. It's hard to pick up any Yankee stuff since the NY dealers seem to mark everything up. For example, I asked several dealers for a price on a 1993 Topps Jeter RC. Asking prices ranged from $8 to $15. I didn't dare ask about the Topps Gold version. I have picked up the base card for between $3 and $5 and the Topps Gold version for between $8 and $11.

Anyway, the first thing I did when I walked in was hit the bargain boxes. I walked away with 20 cards at 10 cents a piece. They are pictured below. My favorites are the 2006 Topps Black Chris Capuano #/55 and the 2008 Topps Chrome Bobby Crosby Refractor #/599. The Crosby is actually my first refractor.

I purchased some supplies and did a lot of window shopping before getting in line for the free John Montfusco autograph. An hour and a half later, I had a cool looking autograph. Montefusco was a pretty cool guy. He was very friendly and approachable. He was sitting at a table with Ralph Branca, Bobby Valentine, and Ed Roebuck. Although the wait was a little long, the result made it worthwhile.

After a well earned lunch, I found some decent bargains, all from the same dealer. I wound up with 12 1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds RCs. I already had three at home. I know Bonds is a steroid using jerkass but I like the card. I also picked up some Griffey RCs on the cheap. I bought 6 1989 Topps Traded cards and 5 1989 Donruss cards. I also wanted to pick up a box of 2009 baseball cards but nothing really caught my eye. I was pretty satisfied with the experience. There really is no better way to spend a Saturday then to walk around a card show.